By — Associated Press Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/voting-hours-extended-at-five-polling-places-in-georgias-fulton-county-disrupted-by-bomb-threats Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Voting hours extended at five polling places in Georgia’s Fulton County disrupted by bomb threats Politics Nov 5, 2024 8:22 PM EDT Of the 177 polling places in Georgia’s Fulton County, 32 received bomb threats Tuesday, county Police Chief W. Wade Yates said. Some of the threats were called directly into the locations where voting was happening, while others were called into 911 or received by email, he said. As a result, voting hours were extended at five polling places in Georgia’s Fulton County that were briefly closed because of bomb threats that were determined to be non-credible. Each voting location’s hours were extended for as long as they were closed. The extensions ranged from 10 minutes at one location to 45 minutes at two locations. A metro Atlanta county also saw voting disrupted by bomb threats. About an hour before polls were to close, officials in DeKalb County said they received bomb threats against five polling places. Officials in the overwhelmingly Democratic suburb said voting had been suspended at those locations until police confirm there are no bombs. County officials say they’re seeking a court order to extend voting, which is routine in Georgia when a polling place is disrupted. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Enter your email address Subscribe Form error message goes here. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. “Rest assured that we are working quickly to ensure every voter will have an opportunity to cast their ballot despite these bomb threats,” DeKalb elections director Keisha Smith said in a statement. Bomb threats to Georgia voting sites were made over the internet and included Cyrillic letters, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said. That gave election officials a clue about the origins of the threats, he said at an early evening briefing in Atlanta. “We jumped on it quickly and then the FBI then followed our lead,” he said. He said that once the FBI released a statement about the matter earlier Tuesday, the threats “kind of tapered off.” He said of the culprits: “I guess they realized that dog won’t hunt today in Georgia.” Find more of our Vote 2024 coverage INTERACTIVE: 2024 Electoral College Map SERIES: A look at Donald Trump and Kamala Harris’ campaign pledges READ MORE: Don’t fall for these false claims as you await the 2024 election results WATCH: Pivotal races that will determine the balance of power in Congress READ MORE: When polls close on Election Day in these 7 battleground states WATCH: What early voting data signals about this year’s election LIVE BLOG: Election 2024 fact checks WATCH: How election workers are fighting back against bad actors trying to undermine the process We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Associated Press Associated Press
Of the 177 polling places in Georgia’s Fulton County, 32 received bomb threats Tuesday, county Police Chief W. Wade Yates said. Some of the threats were called directly into the locations where voting was happening, while others were called into 911 or received by email, he said. As a result, voting hours were extended at five polling places in Georgia’s Fulton County that were briefly closed because of bomb threats that were determined to be non-credible. Each voting location’s hours were extended for as long as they were closed. The extensions ranged from 10 minutes at one location to 45 minutes at two locations. A metro Atlanta county also saw voting disrupted by bomb threats. About an hour before polls were to close, officials in DeKalb County said they received bomb threats against five polling places. Officials in the overwhelmingly Democratic suburb said voting had been suspended at those locations until police confirm there are no bombs. County officials say they’re seeking a court order to extend voting, which is routine in Georgia when a polling place is disrupted. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Enter your email address Subscribe Form error message goes here. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. “Rest assured that we are working quickly to ensure every voter will have an opportunity to cast their ballot despite these bomb threats,” DeKalb elections director Keisha Smith said in a statement. Bomb threats to Georgia voting sites were made over the internet and included Cyrillic letters, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said. That gave election officials a clue about the origins of the threats, he said at an early evening briefing in Atlanta. “We jumped on it quickly and then the FBI then followed our lead,” he said. He said that once the FBI released a statement about the matter earlier Tuesday, the threats “kind of tapered off.” He said of the culprits: “I guess they realized that dog won’t hunt today in Georgia.” Find more of our Vote 2024 coverage INTERACTIVE: 2024 Electoral College Map SERIES: A look at Donald Trump and Kamala Harris’ campaign pledges READ MORE: Don’t fall for these false claims as you await the 2024 election results WATCH: Pivotal races that will determine the balance of power in Congress READ MORE: When polls close on Election Day in these 7 battleground states WATCH: What early voting data signals about this year’s election LIVE BLOG: Election 2024 fact checks WATCH: How election workers are fighting back against bad actors trying to undermine the process We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now